


you can hear it in the silence

by trustingno1



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2014-12-13
Packaged: 2018-03-01 06:48:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2763650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trustingno1/pseuds/trustingno1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Are you blushing?" he asks, and she's <i>not</i>, but she's warm and happy and so very <i>alive</i> in his arms. </p>
<p>(They're not talking about it, but maybe they <i>are</i>).</p>
<p> </p>
<p>post-ep missing scene from 7x02 The Greybar Hotel</p>
            </blockquote>





	you can hear it in the silence

She's curled up on the couch, the living room lit only by the television screen.  
  
"Hey," he says, softly, from the doorway, and Lisbon reaches for the remote, turning the volume down even further.  
  
"Sorry," she says, pushing herself up a bit, "Did I wake you?"  
  
He shakes his head slightly. "Can't sleep?" he asks, joining her on the couch, and she curls into his side (so easy and _trusting_ that his chest aches with the simplicity of it).  
  
He wraps an arm around her, rubs her bicep with the backs of his fingers.  
  
"Do you want to talk about it?" he murmurs.  
  
"No," she says, simply.  
  
He watches the television for a moment. "Cubs?" he asks, and Lisbon laughs into his chest.  
  
"You follow baseball now?" she asks, amused.  
  
"Mmnn," he hums, non-committal, "I just know a few good things have come out of Chicago."  
  
"Yeah?" she asks.  
  
"Yeah," he agrees, "Deep dish pizza?" He kisses the fingertips of his free hand. "Delicious," and she shoves him, but she's laughing again (and _oh_ , he loves the sound of it).  
  
She rests her head on his shoulder. "You're not going to make me talk about it?" she asks, and he shakes his head, almost imperceptibly.  
  
"Talk is overrated," he says, "And you are _incredibly_ stubborn."  
  
She lifts her head to meet his gaze. "I am _not_."  
  
He cocks his head to the side for a moment, with a mock-apologetic grimace, before kissing her on the forehead, gently. "You are," he says, "And it's one of the many - _many_ \- reasons I love you."  
  
She settles back against him, nonplussed, toying with the remote.  
  
"Many?" she finally asks, a little hesitantly, and his arm tightens around her.  
  
"I'll list them all, one day," he promises, and her breath catches.   
  
She traces circles on his thigh with a fingertip. "There's just - so much. That we haven't done yet."  
  
He makes a shocked noise, and she lifts her hand to swat at his chest.  
  
"Not like _that_ ," she says, but she's trying not to laugh.  
  
"Are you blushing?" he asks, and she's _not_ , but she's warm and happy and so very _alive_ in his arms. "I know," he says, softly, now serious, "And we'll do it all."  
  
(They're not talking about it, but maybe they _are_ ).  
  
Her finger dances over his leg, and she's silent, unconvinced.  
  
"You're a good cop, Lisbon," he says (Teresa, usually, these days, but - habit), "And when you're in over your head - which isn't often," he allows, "and whether you need it or not, I will _always_ try to save you."  
  
She's still against him. "If you - didn't," she says, haltingly, and everything she tried to convey this morning with a simple "It's OK" - _I'll know that you tried_ and _I'll know that you loved me_ ; _Don't blame yourself_ and _Don't let it destroy you_ , and he knows, knows that of _course_ she'd be worried about _him_ if she--   
  
and he's not ready for this, not yet.  
  
"I know," he says, again, gently, but with finality.  
  
"Good," she says, softly.  
  
"Good," he repeats.  
  
She re-settles her head against his shoulder, and he listens to her breathe (she's OK and he's OK and _they're_ OK).  
  
"Thank you," she says, eventually (means for so much more than just _this_ ), and he kisses her hair.  
  
"Hush, woman," he says, "I'm trying to watch the game."  
  


 


End file.
